Top 10 Famous Historic Misquotes
Published on May 15, 2008 - 98 Comments
Throughout history, quotes of famous people are often misrepresented. This happens for a variety of reasons - some original quotes are clumsy, some don’t seem to match the style of language we expect of a person, and some are changed for propaganda reasons. This is a list of ten of the most well known quotes that are, in fact, misquotes.
If you know of other famous misquotes, be sure to tell us about it in the comments.
Quote: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” (”Je désapprouve ce que vous dites, mais je défendrai à la mort votre droit à le dire”)
What Voltaire actually said was “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too” from Voltaire’s Essay on Tolerance - that certainly doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. The misquote actually comes from a 1907 book called Friends of Voltaire, by Evelyn Beatrice Hall.
Quote: “I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree.”
Washington never said this. In fact, the story was first told in the 1800s by biographer Parson Weems. In Weems book, the tree was not “chopped down”.
Quote: “Anything that can go wrong, will” (Murphy’s Law)
Edward Murphy did not say this. What he most likely did say is something along the lines of: “If there’s more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way”.
Quote: “The only two certainties in life are death and taxes.”
This is more a problem of misattribution rather than misquotation. Mark Twain did not coin this phrase, it was actually coined by Benjamin Franklin in a letter written to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1879.
Quote: “Gild the lily”
This is a misquote from Shakespeare’s King John. The actual quote is “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily”.
Quote: “The ends justify the means.”
This is a very liberal interpretation of what Machiavelli actually said: “One must consider the final result.” Rather different meanings.
Quote: “The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash.”
Churchill did not utter this phrase at all - his assistant (Anthony Montague-Brown) did. What Churchill did say later was that he wished he had said it.
Quote: “If they have no bread, let them eat cake!” (”S’ils n’ont plus de pain, qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”)
This misquote has been covered on this site before, but I wanted to include it just in case some people haven’t seen it (it is a pet peeve of mine). Queen Marie Antoinette is still much maligned over this quote - and she never even said it! It was actually from the book Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in which he said: “I recalled the make-shift of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread and who replied: ‘Let them eat brioche’.” The attribution to Queen Marie is no doubt anti-royal propaganda during a very troubled time in French history.
Quote: “The British are coming!”
According to Wikipedia, Revere’s mission depended on secrecy and the countryside was filled with British army patrols; also, most colonial residents at the time considered themselves British. The quotation is more likely based on (although not taken verbatim from) the later famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
Quote: “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”
What General Sheridan is alleged to have said is “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead”. He actually denied saying anything remotely like it.
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1. simuun - May 15th, 2008 at 5:29 am
good list but i’m sure there are many moe then just 10
2. DanOhh - May 15th, 2008 at 5:30 am
I think it was Socrates who said, “I drank what?!”
3. simuun - May 15th, 2008 at 5:32 am
*more
but another one of my favorite list for quotes is the ones that were not very well thought out, for example i can’t remember who said it but the one about “someday a computer will fit into a single room” or something along those lines, when not too much later we have computers everywhere from on our desk to in our cellphones
4. BHO - May 15th, 2008 at 5:34 am
Good list, really interesting stuff!!
5. DanOhh - May 15th, 2008 at 5:35 am
Was it Joan of Arc who said, “Golly, it’s sure getting hot in here”.
6. warningdontreadthis - May 15th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Fantastic list Jfrater you never disappoint me
7. DanOhh - May 15th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Abraham Lincoln,”I hope these seats are good?”
8. jfrater - May 15th, 2008 at 5:43 am
DanOhh: they must have been good - he was dying to sit in one!
9. dangorironhide - May 15th, 2008 at 5:48 am
*waits for carpe to change his sig on the forums* (regarding #10)
Another Shakespear one: ‘All that glistens is not gold’, from ‘The Merchant of Venice’. That actual quote is ‘All that glisters is not gold’.
10. DanOhh - May 15th, 2008 at 5:50 am
Jimmy Hoffa, “Honey, I’ll be right back. I’m just going down to the corner to pick up some smokes”.
11. warningdontreadthis - May 15th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Jfrater where do you get the info from?
12. Kreachure - May 15th, 2008 at 5:54 am
Great list. That’s pop history for ya…
I’m sure you could’ve done at least a top 20 of misquotes.
13. JwJwBean - May 15th, 2008 at 6:22 am
I was aware of many of these, but not all. Thank you for helping me become more educated.
14. trojan_man - May 15th, 2008 at 6:22 am
What about quotes that were taken out of context…
“I did not sleep with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
-Bill Clinton
In context, he actually meant…
“Oh, I banged her, all right.”
15. Mikkle - May 15th, 2008 at 6:29 am
I still think the misinterpretation of Murphy’s Law sounds alot better than what he really said.
16. chris_b - May 15th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Was Ben Franklin alive in 1879?
17. macavity - May 15th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Nope, Franklin wasn’t around in 1879. So he couldn’t have written a letter than. Maybe 1779?
18. FelixMG - May 15th, 2008 at 6:51 am
I believe it was Voltaire who said ”Well, fuck them.”
19. Mom424 - May 15th, 2008 at 6:56 am
Great List! Words are my thing.
Hows about;
Alas poor Yorrick, I knew him well. Alas poor Yorrick, I knew him Horatio.
Money is the root of all evil. Love of Money is the root of all evil.
Not historical but an interesting tidbit, Captain Kirk never said “Beam me up Scotty”, and Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary, my dear Watson” and Jack Webb (Dragnet) never said “Just the facts, Ma’am”
20. Clarkekentyboy - May 15th, 2008 at 7:10 am
The evidence is pretty scarce on the Sheridan quote. He denied it? OJ denied it too.
21. SlickWilly - May 15th, 2008 at 7:12 am
According to the Evil Wiki, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong - and at the worst possible time” is *not* Murphy’s Law, but is actually called Finagle’s Law. Murphy’s Law is the correct quote from Murphy above.
Another good quote along these lines: “Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”
22. Mzfly - May 15th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Great List. I hope this hasn’t been covered before but here’s another point about the Marie Antionette misattributed quote: In France at the time, some sly bakeries could make just a few loaves of cheap bread and then of course anyone wishing to buy bread later in the day would be forced to purchase a more expensive selection. A law was passed that bakers had to keep enough of the cheap bread on hand or, if they sold out, they were forced to sell more expensive options at the same price as the cheap stuff.
It give an altogether different meaning to the phrase, if it was ever spoken at all.
23. carpe_noctem - May 15th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Ah crap, thanks a lot jamie, now i have to change my siggy…
24. carpe_noctem - May 15th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Ah crap, thanks a lot jamie, now i have to change my signiature…
25. carpe_noctem - May 15th, 2008 at 7:23 am
And now I posted twice… great….
26. shaunism - May 15th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I want to have the follow-ups to the comments, so I just thought I’d put one of my quotes, re drinking and going out:
“I consider any night I can remember a failure.”
27. SlickWilly - May 15th, 2008 at 7:45 am
In the spirit of this list, I will give one of my favorite accurate quotes, by the late, great W.C. Fields: “Every man has to believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink.”
28. islanderbst - May 15th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Probably most of us would be familiar with these, but still there is something to be said for just a nice, simple list.
I’ll add: Religion is the opiate of the masses- Marx
29. Kreachure - May 15th, 2008 at 8:25 am
islanderbst: That’s not a misquote, right? Cause Marx did say that (in German, anyways).
30. Kreachure - May 15th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Oh, my bad, didn’t notice you started putting accurate quotes ON A LIST ABOUT INACCURATE QUOTES.
Silly, silly me.
31. islanderbst - May 15th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Kreachure: The quote is closer than I remembered, but a little different:
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people.
32. chershey - May 15th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Another good one is Mark Twain’s supposed quote about the coldest winter he ever experienced was summer in San Francisco. A very fitting quote, but not he nor anyone ever said it. He did say that one cannot go without a coat in the summer in San Francisco, but the coldest winter quote is actually a work of fiction from the movie Escape from Alcatraz.
33. Z - May 15th, 2008 at 9:13 am
@#21 (Slickwilly) I prefer: (and I may be coining this right now, I’m not sure) Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by paranoia.
34. Blogball - May 15th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I love quotes so I enjoyed this list
The only thing I can add is when I was growing up I always thought Winston Churchill said this:
“Show me a young Conservative and I’ll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I’ll show you someone with no brains”
But I guess he didn’t
35. Blogball - May 15th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I thought of one more:
“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”
I think a bunch of famous people have been credited with this. Does anybody know who really said it.
36. Christine - May 15th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Cool list! Some I knew, some I did not. Only thing I can think of to make this list even better is an explanation of how the quotes came to be associated with the person. I know some of them have this but more info on others would’ve been even neater.
37. SlickWilly - May 15th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Blogball: Appropriately, that is credited to Sigmund Freud, who thought that placing any phallic-shaped object near one’s mouth has deep-rooted psychoanalytic repercussions, except, apparently, for him and his love of cigars.
38. Blogball - May 15th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Thanks Slick for that info.
I don’t’ think Bill Clinton would agree.
Maybe Clinton said “Sometimes a cigar is more than a cigar”
Hey, we can start that rumor here and it will be a famous misquote 50 years from now
39. miller - May 15th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I take one day at a time and sometimes two or three.
40. Randall - May 15th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Paul Revere wouldn’t have yelled out, “The British are coming,” no… but what he probably bellowed was “The Regulars are out!” — the British redcoat troops being known as “Regulars,” and the “out” referring to the fact–not that they had en masse admitted to enjoying show tunes–but rather that they had “come out of Boston,” which is where they were stationed–Boston at the time being under martial law, city of testy rebels that it was. General Howe had finally agreed to ordering his troops out of the city to march on Concord and Lexington in order to A) capture stores of military supplies such as gunpowder that the colonists were known to be harboring and B) capture uppity troublemakers like Sam Adams and John Hancock, who were hiding out in the villages.
The latter, I believe (Hancock) wanted to stand and fight with the minute men, but was persuaded to escape with his cohorts.
Revere was captured though–a British lieutenant put a gun to his head and told him to give with the information or his brains would be all over the field. Revere proceeded to tell the Brits a whopper of a tale about a huge colonial army massing nearby, marching on their position. He then managed to escape whilst the redcoats were crapping their knickers in anticipation of facing an army of aroused natives.
41. Shane S - May 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I heard Vince Lombardi didn’t actually say “Winning isn’t everything, its the only thing” but instead said “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” I’m at lunch and too lazy to Google it. Anybody know?
42. dave4248 - May 15th, 2008 at 11:25 am
You forgot Rodney King. He’s often quoted as saying….”Can’t we all just get along?” He actually said…”Can, can we all get along?” I ’spose that’s splitting hairs on my part.
43. Chalkwhite - May 15th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Darth Vader never said “Luke, I am your father.”
Humphrey Bogart never said “Play it again, Sam” in Casablanca. I know their fictional, but I think those’re two big ones.
44. playyahplay - May 15th, 2008 at 11:31 am
everyone forgot about the crappy radio used in the studio by armstrong? “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” either he forgot preposition or grammar is different in california. (yes, i excluded a preposition for comedic effect)
45. warningdontreadthis - May 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Chalkwhite:
Jamie made a top ten list over movie quotes. The two you mentioned are there.
46. Randall - May 15th, 2008 at 11:43 am
playyahplay:
“…used in the studio”?
47. Barack Obama - May 15th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
“Mission Accomplished”
–George ‘My Pet Goat’ Bush
Had to knock good ol’ Bushy…been a while.
48. Galileo908 - May 15th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
First time poster, long time reader, etc.
But I must add this:
Descartes’s “I think, therefore I am” is actually “I am thinking, therefore I exist.”
49. Cedestra - May 15th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I think he’s inferring that the Moon landing was fake. We just can’t have a nice, friendly discussion; we always have to throw in some controversy, huh? /sigh
50. SlickWilly - May 15th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Cedestra: Well, if people would stop inferring that we never went to the moon, everything would be cool.
51. Shane S - May 15th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Barak ‘Sexist’ Obama: “Hold on one second, sweetie” to a female reporter.
52. EricB - May 15th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Dunno if this was mentioned yet but I’m pretty sure there was no way Ben Franklin penned a letter in 1879…he was long dead at that point, lol.
Good list though
53. copperdragon - May 15th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Wasn’t it Twain who said…
“there are three types of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
54. SlickWilly - May 15th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Shane S: So I suppose when I go down to the local grocery store and the female cashier says to me, “here is your receipt, sweetie,” she’s being sexist too, right? Because of course you know what Obama is thinking. Sheesh…there are bigger problems out there, man.
55. kiwiboi - May 15th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Galileo908 - Descartes’ Discourse on the Method definitely contains the phrase :”Je pense, donc je suis” which can translate literally to “I think, therefore I am”.
His Principles of Philosophy was written some time later and this is, I think, what you might be referring to. It was here that he used the Latin phrase Cogito ergo sum; for which there would seem to be a million interpretations, including the one you mention. It should also be added that Descartes’ own follow-up writings did not help as he, himself, propounded varying meanings to the phrase.
BTW..welcome to LV
56. TerraByte - May 15th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Not Twain.
There are lies, damn lies, and Church statistics.
Disraeli
57. goof_ball - May 15th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
my life is a lie! lol not really. good list!
58. astraya - May 15th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
playyahplay: I think you and Armstrong both actually forgot articles, not prepositions. Articles are “a”, “an” and “the”. Prepositions are words like “in”, “out”, “through” etc.
Armstrong did mess up: see http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp.
59. spence425 - May 15th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
alright, i’ve got to say it. i love this site…i stop here every day. my only real problem is that this site seems to quote wikipedia as if it were a reliable source.
wikipidia is aanything but a reliable source. anyone can edit a wiki entry. there have been numerous occasions where wikipedia has been manipulated for no other reason than for the sake of humor.
wikepedia is not a reliable source, it never has been, and it never will be.
60. CRussey - May 15th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
when my class was studying the French revolution, my teacher said that Marie Antoinette quote at least 20 times.
It even says it in my history textbook
61. Kreachure - May 15th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
About Wikipedia: Yes, everyone can edit it. But it seems that for every jerk that edits an article with a prank, there are a hundred others who use the tools and policies that Wikipedia has garnered over the years to revert it and keep articles as accurate as they should be. Wikipedia has established many practices and safeguards over the last years. The community is responsible for the stability that Wikipedia enjoys. It surprises me too, but Wikipedia is pretty much the most reliable, complete, and accessible site you will find in the Internet these days.
If you don’t believe me, check ANY article on science or history there. You’ll have to look hard to find inaccuracies , since users are able to constantly demand reliable sources and corrections, while at the same time improving the articles themselves and looking out for any ill-intentioned edits.
And if you won’t believe your own eyes, then believe the myriad studies that have been done comparing the accuracy of Wikipedia and other encyclopedias like Britannica. They pretty much stand side by side, except that in Wikipedia you can find hundreds of thousands more articles and info than Encyclopedia Britannica would ever care to have.
62. lizzie - May 15th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Another misquote: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
From William Congreve’s ‘The Mourning Bride’:
‘Heaven has no rage, like love to hatred turned,
Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorned.’
Not historical, but often misquoted none the less. Love the list JFrater.
63. Crimanon - May 15th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I should slap myself!!! I almost laughed out loud…. After following my GF to the north east for her study in Gas Engorged Protein and Carbohydrate Matrixes.
‘Let them eat brioche’= Let them eat (enriched) Bread. That woman is rotting my brain. The information from her schooling wiped out about half a season of memorized Ren and Stimpy episodes.
64. Sherrie - May 15th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Re: Antoinette.
I was under the impression the quote is correct, but many don’t know of the circumstances. French bakers were required produce a certain amount of “regular” bread(pain) for the common folk, to prevent them from only producing a small amount, then charging a higher price for the “premium” (brioche) Further to this, the peasants were able to buy brioche at the regular price, if an unscrupulous baker ran out before they had all been served. She was simply saying, the poor should be able to buy brioche at pain prices
65. LordCalvert - May 15th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
was it Kierkegaard or Dick Van Patten who said, “If you label me, you negate me.”
66. Sidereus - May 15th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
playyahplay: While the Armstrong’s recording certainly does sound like he left out the word “a”, a careful sound analysis done with a computer has revealed an inaudible wave where the “a” should go. Therefore, it is possible he spoke correctly, it just wasn’t very well recorded.
Honestly though, who cares? We all know what he meant.
67. Crimanon - May 15th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
LordCalvert: Party on!!
68. Mike - May 15th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!! - Caeser
69. astraya - May 16th, 2008 at 3:23 am
General Custer didn’t say: “Look at all those fucking Indians!”
70. SlickWilly - May 16th, 2008 at 6:49 am
astraya: Yes he did.
71. Kreachure - May 16th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Hey, I just remembered a great misquote by John F. Kennedy (in German):
“I am a jelly doughnut!” O.O
Obviously, he didn’t say that. he said “I am a Berliner”, and someone said that the phrase was grammatically incorrect and in German became “I am a Berliner (as in the pastry)!” But, this was not true and Germans never understood it this way.
72. carp - May 16th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Benjamin Franklin…1879? (#7)
73. Cataline - May 16th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I would suggest that Occam’s Razor might be another famous misquote. It’s usually quoted as something like “The simplest solution is usually the best.” What he really said was “entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity” (”entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem”).
74. LS - May 16th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
This one’s pretty amusing. Aren’t they all?
I REALLY wish I’d found this before that French project on Marie Antoinette. I was too lazy to translate “Let them eat cake” into French, so…yeah. That would have been nice.
I was also unaware of Murphy’s first name. I never thought he had one. I always assumed it was just one of those things. Like Socrates, Archemedes, Plato, or any of the other geniuses everyone’s heard of. (Eddie Murphy. Haha.)
That picture of Machiavelli creeps me out. Especially now that I know the face on the cover of “The Prince” was of a real person, he’s just…
75. Lister-Ian - May 16th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Marie Antoinette: I’ve heard it as….
The french word “pain” translates as “bread”, but the english word “cake” translates as “gateau” in french, not “brioche”.
Brioche refers to simpler quickbreads such as muffins or cornbread. Thus her suggestion was quite reasonable.
76. Crimanon - May 17th, 2008 at 12:28 am
That’s It!!!! How many of you argumentative pricks have ever HAD A BRIOCHE???? It is not Cake and It is NOT Quick.
I’m looking at a text book Right now; The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart pg.123 “Brioche is the standard by which all rich breads are judged.” DId that say cake? No, and anyone with Minimal culinary experience Knows the difference. I’m really heated right now and when my girlfriend gets home I’m going to have a few words with her about Why she actually had to go and study this. I’m not even that much of a fan of bread!
77. kiwiboi - May 17th, 2008 at 1:05 am
I would suggest that Occam’s Razor might be another famous misquote … What he really said was ..”entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem”.
Cataline - I think you’ll find he didn’t say that either.
78. kiwiboi - May 17th, 2008 at 1:33 am
How many of you argumentative pricks have ever HAD A BRIOCHE?
Crimanon - in Europe (Western Europe, at least) you will probably find brioche in any supermarket. Many small stores, even.
jfrater is probably correct in his explanation. However, Sherrie’s comment (#64) is certainly the “interpretation” that has gained in popularity over recent years.
It is, however, much more likely that Marie Antoinette never even said such a thing. In any case, she was apparently an upper-class airhead, and if she had said something along those lines, she would likely have meant it in a disparaging way.
Brioche is delicious, by the way…
79. Crimanon - May 17th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Kiwi: Jamie And Sherrie were the only other ones to get it right! Everyone else goes around misquoting and Rings my Pet peeve alarm. I just wish people would acknowledge when they’ve been corrected.
80. Drogo - May 17th, 2008 at 2:25 am
People have imitated Cary Grant by saying, “Judy, Judy, Judy” but he never said it in a movie.
Mae West never said, “Come up and see me sometime.” She said (I think it was), “You know where I am, if you want to see me.”
I once misquoted myself. At dinner, I meant to ask my mom to “Pass the salt.” but I accidentally said, “You stupid bitch, you ruined my entire life!”
81. astraya - May 17th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Slickwilly: Sure, and the mayor of Hiroshima also said “What the fuck was that?” etc.
Drogo: There is a clip on youtube: http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=5L0eJp7V2Zs
She says: “Why don’t you come up some time, see me”, then “Why don’t you come up some time, huh?” and also “Come up, I’ll tell your fortune”.
82. Lokelani - May 17th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Drogo: That was the most hilarious thing I’ve heard all day. Thanks for making me laugh.
83. Marc - May 18th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
To famous lines that were never actually uttered in the original movie..
Play it again, Sam
Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn.
84. PhineusQButterfat - May 18th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Although Ben Franklin lived to the age of 89, the letter he wrote regarding #7 was likely 1789, not 1879 seeing as he was dead.
85. TheJakkke - May 18th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Murphy’s law is my fave on the list. didnt know that one.
86. SteveM - May 19th, 2008 at 9:50 am
My high school english teacher explained the Antionette quote (during our reading of “Tale of Two Cities”), that during that time bakers would line their brick ovens with dough as a kind of insulation or something. This would of course become burned on and have to be periodically scraped out and replaced. This was colloquially called “cake” and it is this that Marie was suggesting the peasants eat if they had no bread. So, she was not being flippant but extremely insulting.
Never been able to verify this, but it makes a lot of sense.
87. jfrater - May 19th, 2008 at 10:16 am
SteveM: unfortunately your school teacher is perpetuating an untruth - and a totally bizarre one at that! Let us deal with the problems:
1) Marie Antoinette never said it - it was a fictional quote written about someone else before she was Queen
2) Bakers don’t line their ovens - but they do seal the edges of the door with a dough to keep the heat in. This is never eaten and is not called “cake”
3) The term in French that is usually translated to “Cake” is actually “brioche” which is a type of bread that is enriched with eggs and butter - it is more expensive than bread.
The problem with the whole debate is that at the time, the King had passed a law stating that any bakers who ran out of bread had to sell their brioche at the lower price of bread. This is because bakers would make only a few cheap loaves and then a lot of brioche so that the people would have to pay for the more expensive bread. The law was passed to stop the bakers cheating the poor.
So - ultimately, if anyone did say “let them eat cake” - it is probably a reference to the law at the time which makes perfect sense. When being told that there was no bread, logically the poor would then buy brioche which had to be marked down in price.
Alas I think your teacher might need a refresher course herself!
88. kiwiboi - May 19th, 2008 at 11:39 am
To be fair to SteveM’s teacher, I have seen the reference to the oven lining more than once. It was referring to the dough that was “caked” onto the inside of the baker’s oven.
All said and done, though, it is almost universally held that Marie Antoinette never uttered anything remotely to do with “let them eat cake/brioche/whatever”, as jfrater says.
89. SteveM - May 19th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I probably should have mentioned that I went to High School in the 70’s, so this is a rather old recollection. And it is also possible that the explanation was meant only to apply to Dickens’ novel and not the historic Marie Antoinette. I don’t remember.
90. kiwiboi - May 19th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
And it is also possible that the explanation was meant only to apply to Dickens’ novel and not the historic Marie Antoinette.
SteveM - Don’t be so hard on yourself. I, too, have certainly read/heard a variation on this explanation applied to M. Antoinette on more than one occasion. It is almost certainly wrong though.
91. adeline - May 19th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
in Jon Stewart’s book America, he makes a joke about what Paul Revere “actually” said during his warning ride. here’s the joke…
Historians say Revere probably would not have been yelling, “The British are coming,” since at the time most colonists still thought of themselves as British. His actual cry was, “I say, representatives of the King’s army will be arriving on our shores to do most grievous harm to us, their fellow subjects under the crown… so be mindful and watchful on this night!” Over the course of his 12-mile gallop he managed to complete the phrase three times.
92. Mirthmaker - May 19th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Wonderful site! Have just put it on my “Favs” list. Comments are even better (well done, all!) Very educational and enlightening banter, but…Drago takes it all by a country mile! I’m still bustin’ up- funniest thing I’ve heard or read recently.
93. seeker - May 20th, 2008 at 3:19 am
“In the essentials, UNITY; in the non-essentials, LIBERTY; in all things, CHARITY”
Often attributed to Augustine, actually was penned by RUPERTUS MELDENIUS
“There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Often attributed to Mark Twain, they are actually the words of former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, as quoted by Twain in his autobiography.
Of course, the founding fathers of the US are often misquoted to support various positions on government - here, for example, are a host of Thomas Jefferson misquotes.
94. Drogo - May 26th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Contrary to popular belief, the first words that Marconi broadcast through his invention, the radio, were not, “Tenth caller receives two free tickets to see Supertramp!”
95. andri - May 28th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Very amusing, but Ben Franklin had already been dead for 80-odd years when you say he wrote that letter!
96. Green Is Good - June 3rd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
And of course, who could forget Einstein’s famous quote:
“Any f*cking idiot could understand that.”
97. Helen - June 12th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Anthony Montague-Brown is *not* the one who said “rum, sodomy, and the lash.” According to what I can find, he made a speech in which he talked about this phrase being attributed to Churchill and said that Churchill had told him (A. M.-B.) that he (W.S.C.) WISHED he had said it.
According to the Yale Dictionary of Quotations, it’s quoted in Harold Nicolson’s diary entry of 17 August 1950 (an edition of the diary was published in 1968) as “Naval traditions? Monstrous. Nothing but rum, sodomy, prayers, and the lash.”